Paul Dittel (14 January 1907 in Mittweida, Saxony – 8 May 1982[citation needed] in Mönchengladbach) was a German historian and Anglicist who was also an Obersturmbannführer in the Schutzstaffel (SS). He played a central role in the Nazi German policy of confiscating libraries and literary collections from occupied countries.
Paul Dittel | |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 January 1907  |
| Died | 1982 (aged 74–75) |
| Education | doctorate |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Political party | Nazi Party |
Biography
editWithin the SS, Dittel was affiliated with the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) intelligence service and he was chief of that body's museum, library and research department.[1] In late 1939 he was one of a number of Ahnenerbe members selected by Wolfram Sievers to travel to Poland in order to raid its museums and collections.[2]
In 1943, Dittel succeeded Franz Six as chief of the Reich Security Main Office (SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt; RSHA) department, Amt VII, the "written records" section which had responsibility for ideological research.[3] In this role his activities soon came to focus on the topic of Freemasonry and he was involved in the looting of collections, devoted to this topic.[4] Dittel oversaw the publication of a number of anti-Masonic books from the collection of material that he had gathered as well as the establishment of a Masonic Library.[5] He was also responsible for the development of a special collection of books on occult topics such as theosophy and astrology, a project that had been devised by Ernst Kaltenbrunner and in which SS chief Heinrich Himmler took a keen interest.[6]
Dittel was imprisoned after World War II. Following his release in 1948, he moved to Mönchengladbach where he was employed as a clerk until at least 1973.[4]
Legacy
editDittel was one of a number of residents of 72, Pfalzburger Strasse in Wilmersdorf, Berlin—where his neighbours included a Jewish family and a man from Togo— featured in the fifth series of the BBC Television history series, A House Through Time.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Looting and Restitution: Jewish-Owned Cultural Artifacts from 1933 to the Present - D (Glossary)". Jewish Museum Berlin.
- ^ Pringle, Heather (2006). The Master Plan: Himmler's Scholars and the Holocaust. Hyperion. p. 201. ISBN 978-0786887736.
- ^ Stackelberg, Roderick (2007). The Routledge Companion to Nazi Germany. Routledge. p. 297. ISBN 9780415308618.
- ^ a b Borak, Mecislav, ed. (2008). Restitution of Confiscated Art Works - Wish or Reality? (PDF). Prague: Tilia. p. 130. ISBN 978-80-7285-100-3.
- ^ Borak, 'Restitution of Confiscated Art Works', p. 134
- ^ Borak, 'Restitution of Confiscated Art Works', p. 158
- ^ "Episode 3". A House Through Time. Series 5. Episode 3. 2024. BBC Television. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
.svg){kind=small} | This article related to Nazi Germany is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |